Samhain Song (A Halloween Poem)

From a book I’m working on entitled Sovereigns of the Seasons - An anthology of poetry and art for the 52 weeks of the year.

Soon come winter's meditations,
Fever Dreams take the throne,
Glows, vapours, ghastly visions.
Summer's dizzy joy is gone.

Lit hallows sculpt shadows
Between equinox and solstice.
Stir the mists, call to hollows
Mildew defies creeping ice.

Rot corrupts clean roots,
Fingers, serpents, writhing dragons
To trap and tug a misplaced foot
Into the earth's mouldy mansions.

Chattering branches summon servants
Twisted minstrels, mocking goblins.
Voices sweet and decadent.
Bait a trap for tender skin.

In his nineteenth autumn
Seeking a lover's comfort.
Lyre lies and faerie drums,
The music draws him out

Blood beats, measured steps,
An open heart swayed by spells.
Rhyming words on rasping lips
Call the trees to dance as well.

He leaps, he twirls, he slips!
Writhing roots find flesh
Curling wood's iron grip.
He ponders folly in the crush.

At Samhain song, the forest feeds.
Breath and bone meet gorging earth
Feed thirsty roots, sleeping seeds.
Martyred youth for spring rebirth.